ITMWG 37

Chapter 37…

Fallen in love

The hunt was abruptly stopped because of the unfortunate incident in which some maniac dared to kill the prince. Earl Gillan broke out in a cold sweat, frustrated at how this commotion had to happen at the time he was hosting.

“My-my apology, Your Highness. I’d never thought that man, Balhail would do such an outrageous thing…”

Thinking that it would be a big deal if the prince’s anger splashed on him, Count Gillan bowed so low that it seemed like he almost touched the ground. Numerous eastern nobles were watching him from behind, but he was in no position to save face at the time.

How dare that bastard lay his hands on the imperial family?! Treason!

Regardless of the truth, just being entangled in the crime against the imperial family made his flesh tremble.

“It’s not something the count should be apologising for. Since the host cannot confirm the innocence of all the guests.”

Contrary to Count Gillan’s concerns, Prince Orca was generously understanding. At that, he let out a sigh of relief and carefully examined Prince Orca.

I heard that the third prince is the least similar to the deceased emperor.

The widespread rumour was correct. They said that the first prince resembled the emperor in appearance, while the second prince took after the emperor’s temperament, but the third prince bore no resemblance to him at all.

Count Gillan flinched as he felt a cold stare on him as he continued his blasphemous thoughts. When he raised his head to where he could feel the gaze, Prince Orca was still looking at him with a smile on his face.

W-was it just a hallucination?

It must have been an illusion, since there was no way that a weak prince could exude such a demeanor. Count Gillan quickly regained his composure and straightened his hunched back.

“I’m going to end the event here and investigate the guests. There may be accomplices that we are unaware of…If there truly are, it will be a great threat to Your Highness.”

“Haha. Who else would be aiming for someone like me? Still, I’ll trust the count and let you handle it.”

“This is the first time you have dropped by the Eastern gathering, yet… I am so sorry that such an unpleasant incident has occurred. If you give me a chance to make up for it, I would like to set a good date and invite you again.”

“Invitations are always welcome. However…”

Prince Orca looked at the gathered nobles and asked.

“The baroness of Aylesford almost got into trouble this time, right?”

“Ah… yes. The criminal went into the tent where the baroness was when he was fleeting…”

“It seems he had tried to negotiate with the baroness as a hostage. Fortunately, the Black Dragon Knights appeared soon and there were no major problems.”

For a split second, there was a glint in Prince Orca’s eyes, as the truth was different from what he had been told.

Looks like it has something to do with Aylesford.

It was a clever move, since it would be quite tiring to have your name go around in unsavory rumours.

“I feel so sorry that the Baroness has been caught up in such a dreadful incident because of me. I want to meet her in person and comfort her…”

“Right now, it is difficult to welcome guests as she is still shocked from what happened.”

Before Prince Orca could finish his words, a cold male voice was suddenly heard. It was Altair, Baron Aylesford. And he wasn’t alone.

“Argh!”

A middle-aged woman was thrown to the floor with a high-pitched scream. She was the maid of Countess Gillan.

“What-, what on earth is going on…”

At the appearance of a familiar face, Countess Gillan turned pale and her hands trembled. The aristocrats who were buzzing also became stunned by the sudden turn of events and stopped altogether. They then began to carefully examine the situation. The first to come to his senses was Count Gillan.

Whatever the fault was, the right to punish the servant of one’s family still belonged to its owner. Treating a servant recklessly was considered the same as treating the family disrespectfully, so servants from families with great prestige had high status like most nobles. However, Altair disregarded the rules of the social world and mistreated a maid of Countess Gillan, who had a higher status than himself.

“Do you know how rude it is to touch a lady-in-waiting of my family without asking for my permission?”

Count Gillan protested loudly, but Altair remained calm. He stared down coldly at the lady-in-waiting, who was sprawling on the ground and trembling. Not long after, he began to explain the situation in detail.

“This lady-in-waiting dared to take part in the assassination of His Highness, so we arrested her even though we knew it was rude.”

“Wh-what?! A-assassination?!”

“That’s right. Our knight has seen this maid come into contact with Balhail.”

“Th-that…”

If their maid was involved in the assassination of the prince, it was obvious that the master, Count Gillan, would also be suspected. That said, this must end with Altair’s misunderstanding, otherwise, things would turn ugly.

“What kind of framing is this, Baron Aylesford?! You don’t even have sufficient proof.”

“I wouldn’t have done this without proof.”

Altair smiled and gestured toward the maid with his chin.

“I saw this lady-in-waiting receive gold coins from Balhail. She had no time to hide it elsewhere, so she probably still has it.”

As soon as Altair finished speaking, Prince Orca’s subordinate, who was guarding his side, searched through the maid and found a small pouch. The pouch then went to Prince Orca. When the prince opened the pouch, it was full of gold coins of a considerable amount.

“T-th-that-, there is no proof that the gold coins were given by Balhail!”

Count Gillan raised his chin with a more confident voice, wiping off his cold sweat, as he thought there was some reasonable point in his hastily spoken words.

“Everyone has gold coins, but I don’t think that our lady-in-waiting has them because she is allied with that bastard! We took good care of the baron, but how can you frame someone like this!”

However, Altair approached Prince Orca without paying attention to Count Gillan’s shouting.

“Gold coins are not proof. Rather, it lies with the pocket. Would you like to smell its scent?”

“Scent?”

Prince Orca tilted his head curiously while bringing the pouch close to his nose. Not long after that, he looked at Altair with eyes wide open as if realising something big.

“Balhail likes to dress up decently, so he custom-makes and uses his own perfume. That combination is only exclusive to him.”

“But this bag smells the same.”

Prince Orca clicked his tongue as if there was no point in further discussion. Count Gillan turned white at the sound and waved his hand in denial.

“T-th-that’s not it! I really don’t know, Your Highness!”

Orca was silent. The soft smile had disappeared from his face. Count Gillan, who was even more agitated by the change in his mood, started kicking the maid who knelt on the ground out of panic.

“How dare you do such a thing! Who did you intend to kill? Huh?”

“I-I didn’t even know either! I just did what he told me to do…I did not expect him to do something so terrible…!”

Seeing the maid trying to stop him by waving her hands, the Countess of Gillan collapsed in shock, but no one offered her a helping hand in case they might be misunderstood. In the midst of the commotion, Altair remained silent, watching the lady-in-waiting getting kicked.

Hmm…

Meanwhile, Orca was observing Altair carefully.

The corner of Orca’s mouth rose slightly.

This visit to the East will give pretty good results.

Countess Gillan’s maid could not bear the kicks of Count Gillan, who tried to prove his innocence, and was beaten to death on the spot. It would be the right thing to collect her body, but because they were afraid of being misunderstood as a traitor, no one stepped forward, so the maid’s body was left there until everyone dispersed. Now she would return to her natural state as food for countless beasts that roamed the forest. The meeting was completely over, and it was time to go home. However, Altair, who got rid of the annoying enemy as planned, was far from looking refreshed. Seeing Altair dragged on his heavy steps with a long face, Cain cleared his throat slightly and tried to lift the mood.

“It looks like Balhail has been taken care of properly.”

“…”

“Since he entered a notorious prison, it would be difficult to come back alive, and now, if you get back the land that was unfairly taken from you, the long-term bad relationship will end.”

“…”

“And since the lady-in-waiting was well taken care of as well, the madame…”

As soon as the word “madame” came out, Altair, who had been walking silently, stopped. Cain flinched and turned to look at Altair. He then scratched his head out of the awkward tension.

“I’m not depressed.”

“Have you even seen yourself? I thought I was looking at a dog with droopy ears.”

“No matter what, a dog out of all-…!”

Altair, who was furious at the baseless metaphor, suddenly lowered his voice as he caught sight of their carriage, which was getting closer. It felt like there was no point in protesting Cain’s nonsense.

“For now, you are on probation for disobeying orders. Because you did not follow my orders under the specified circumstances.”

“Yes. I have also explained it properly to the madame.”

“Explain?”

Altair, who was somewhat down, frowned at Cain.

“Don’t be presumptuous. It’s my job to do the explanation. There is no superior in the world who entrusts explanations to his subordinates. Are you the commander?”

“…no.”

Even though he was scolded, for some reason, the corners of Cain’s mouth twitched. Hating that sight, Altair slapped Cain on the back, but his smile did not disappear.

“Come to think of it, I don’t think you should just talk to her. Since the madame is in a bad mood, why not give her a present?”

This time around, Altair was tempted. Seeing Altair showing interest, Cain gained courage and nodded. He whispered in Altair’s ear, lowering his voice as much as possible in case the madame might hear them. Altair, who listened to the whispering, looked at Cain with a frown in disbelief, but Cain nodded enthusiastically, telling his lord to trust him.

“…Can I really believe you?”

Altair, in conflict, sighed and glanced at the carriage where Nadia was.

Well … I’d rather do anything now.

This moment was very unfamiliar and difficult for Altair because he had never lived to please someone in his entire life. He had never felt so uncomfortable about someone being angry with him or showing offended feelings. If someone hated him then let them be, he had always thought that way, but he didn’t want to be that kind of person to Nadia. A good person. Someone she could trust. He wanted to be her husband, closer to her than anyone else.

“…If this doesn’t work, prepare to die.”